Big rise in violent crime in US
Tuesday Jun 13 08:50 AEST
US violent crimes last year increased by the highest percentage in 15 years, the FBI says.
But Justice Department officials reject any suggestion that an anti-terrorism emphasis and federal funding cuts are to blame.
The FBI said that nearly 12,500 law enforcement agencies across the country reported an increase in the number of violent crimes of 2.5 per cent last year, led by more murders, robberies and aggravated assaults.
It said the number of murders rose 4.8 per cent, the largest percentage gain in 15 years.
Robberies increased 4.5 per cent while the number of aggravated assaults went up 1.9 per cent. The only violent crime category to drop was rape, falling 1.9 per cent.
The nation's four regions all posted increases in violent crime in 2005.
The US Midwest had the steepest jump at 5.7 per cent, followed by the West at 1.9 per cent, the South at 1.8 per cent and the Northeast at 1.4 per cent.
Murders went up the most in cities with 50,000 to 500,000 people, rising between 9.4 and 12.5 per cent. The smallest increase in murders - just 0.5 per cent - occurred in cities with more than 1 million people.
While violent crimes went up last year, the number of property crime offences, like burglary, larceny-theft and motor vehicle theft, dropped 1.6 per cent.
The FBI report did not give any explanation why the violent crime numbers and murders went up last year, but Justice Department officials said during a news briefing that the government's policies were not to blame.
Responding to questions from reporters about the views of some criminal justice experts, the officials rejected the suggestion that the increase may reflect the anti-terrorism emphasis since the September 11 attacks and funding cuts for programs to put more police officers on the street.
US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has directed Justice Department and FBI experts to look at the crime data and report back to him on what could be the cause of the increase, the officials said.
The officials called the increase troubling and a matter of concern, but said the FBI's preliminary numbers, which cover about 75 per cent of the nation, do not necessarily signify a trend of higher crime rates.
"These numbers are something to watch," Richard
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=106175
Nearly 3 of 10 Americans do volunteer work, study finds
BY ELY PORTILLO AND SADIA LATIFI
Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON - More than 65 million Americans volunteered their time last year, but the participation rate has remained flat since 2002 and participation varies widely by state, region and ethnic group, according to a federal survey released Monday.
While numbers are up nearly 6 million, the rate at which Americans volunteer remained steady at 28.8 percent, according to the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency that promotes volunteer work and administers such government volunteer programs as the Senior Corps and AmeriCorps. Americans volunteered an average of 50 hours a year, the agency found.
The figures, which include Americans 16 and older, are derived mainly from U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
The results aren't great news for David Eisner, the CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. After the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush charged the agency with increasing U.S. volunteerism.
Still, Eisner said Monday that the steady rate is an achievement, given the aging of U.S. baby boomers and the growing Latino population, both of which volunteer at relatively low rates.
"As the kids leave home, volunteering diminishes," Eisner said. He added: "We have not made the kind of `asks' that we need to of the Latino population." An "ask" in the language of nonprofits is a request for help.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/14802285.htm
Will state Democrats back D.C.'s horse?
Virginia voters in Tuesday's Senate primary weigh who they like - and who can oust the GOP incumbent.
By Gail Russell Chaddock | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
ARLINGTON, VA. – War hero and former Reagan Navy secretary James Webb is the name that Senate Democrats hope will lead the ticket against Republican Sen. George Allen in this fall's election, because they're convinced he could win.
"He's our best hope for defeating Allen in November," said Sen. Charles Schumer (D) of New York, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, in a statement last week.
But it's not clear that Virginia Democrats expected to turn out in Tuesday's primary election got the memo.
At an annual dinner on Friday, not a hint of applause from Arlington County Democrats greeted Mr. Webb's announcement that 13 Democratic senators had "stood up and endorsed my candidacy."
"I'm a yellow dog Democrat," explained retired teacher Jean Barton, a Democratic Party activist since the 1960s, in a reference to Southern Democrats' historical pattern of voting for their party's candidates whether they like them or not. "I like to dance with the guy who brought me."
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0613/p03s03-uspo.html
Philip Merrill's sailboat found empty in Chesapeake Bay
Monday, June 12, 2006; Posted: 8:31 a.m. EDT (12:31 GMT)
Philip Merrill in 2004, when he was president of the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
BALTIMORE, Maryland (AP) -- Rescue crews continued to search the Chesapeake Bay on Monday for a prominent publisher and former diplomat whose sailboat was found sitting on the water with its engine running.
Philip Merrill was sailing alone Saturday and failed to come home, Col. Mark S. Chaney, superintendent of the Maryland Natural Resource Police said Sunday.
State and federal agencies joined the search. The Coast Guard sent both aircraft and boats and was operating under the assumption that Merrill fell overboard, Senior Chief Steve Carleton said.
Considering the conditions and the chilly water temperature, U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Timothy G.M. Balunis Jr, estimated survival time to be about 28 hours.
"As time goes by, chances of survival are less and less," Chaney said.
Merrill, 72, an experienced sailor, had been sailing alone in breezy weather Saturday, said Tom Marquardt, executive editor of The (Annapolis) Capital, one of seven periodicals Merrill publishes.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/06/12/missing.boater.ap
US governors adopt energy plans for the West
Reuters
Monday, June 12, 2006; 6:26 PM
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Governors of states in the U.S. West approved proposals over the weekend to add cleaner energy resources to meet the region's growing demand for electricity and they called for reductions in greenhouse gases linked to global warming.
The Western Governors Association, which represents 19 states and three U.S.-flag islands in the Pacific, passed measures on Sunday that call for 30,000 new megawatts of clean energy supplies such as solar and geothermal power by 2015, and development of cleaner fuels like ethanol and biodiesel and climate change policies for the West.
The resolution on climate change, however, did not lay out specific actions to be taken.
California Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told the governors at their annual meeting in Sedona, Arizona, that they must work harder on the greenhouse problem.
"On global warming we still come up short," Schwarzenegger said. "We've made progress in everyone seeing it's a serious problem. But unless we set specific goals and targets with specific ways to measure our performance, a resolution won't mean very much."
"We're long past the time when it's OK just to talk about these problems," he said.
The measure also urged Congress and the Bush administration to fund research on climate change and to support coordinated international research on the issue.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/12/AR2006061201190.html
Tuesday Jun 13 08:50 AEST
US violent crimes last year increased by the highest percentage in 15 years, the FBI says.
But Justice Department officials reject any suggestion that an anti-terrorism emphasis and federal funding cuts are to blame.
The FBI said that nearly 12,500 law enforcement agencies across the country reported an increase in the number of violent crimes of 2.5 per cent last year, led by more murders, robberies and aggravated assaults.
It said the number of murders rose 4.8 per cent, the largest percentage gain in 15 years.
Robberies increased 4.5 per cent while the number of aggravated assaults went up 1.9 per cent. The only violent crime category to drop was rape, falling 1.9 per cent.
The nation's four regions all posted increases in violent crime in 2005.
The US Midwest had the steepest jump at 5.7 per cent, followed by the West at 1.9 per cent, the South at 1.8 per cent and the Northeast at 1.4 per cent.
Murders went up the most in cities with 50,000 to 500,000 people, rising between 9.4 and 12.5 per cent. The smallest increase in murders - just 0.5 per cent - occurred in cities with more than 1 million people.
While violent crimes went up last year, the number of property crime offences, like burglary, larceny-theft and motor vehicle theft, dropped 1.6 per cent.
The FBI report did not give any explanation why the violent crime numbers and murders went up last year, but Justice Department officials said during a news briefing that the government's policies were not to blame.
Responding to questions from reporters about the views of some criminal justice experts, the officials rejected the suggestion that the increase may reflect the anti-terrorism emphasis since the September 11 attacks and funding cuts for programs to put more police officers on the street.
US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has directed Justice Department and FBI experts to look at the crime data and report back to him on what could be the cause of the increase, the officials said.
The officials called the increase troubling and a matter of concern, but said the FBI's preliminary numbers, which cover about 75 per cent of the nation, do not necessarily signify a trend of higher crime rates.
"These numbers are something to watch," Richard
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=106175
Nearly 3 of 10 Americans do volunteer work, study finds
BY ELY PORTILLO AND SADIA LATIFI
Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON - More than 65 million Americans volunteered their time last year, but the participation rate has remained flat since 2002 and participation varies widely by state, region and ethnic group, according to a federal survey released Monday.
While numbers are up nearly 6 million, the rate at which Americans volunteer remained steady at 28.8 percent, according to the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency that promotes volunteer work and administers such government volunteer programs as the Senior Corps and AmeriCorps. Americans volunteered an average of 50 hours a year, the agency found.
The figures, which include Americans 16 and older, are derived mainly from U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
The results aren't great news for David Eisner, the CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. After the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush charged the agency with increasing U.S. volunteerism.
Still, Eisner said Monday that the steady rate is an achievement, given the aging of U.S. baby boomers and the growing Latino population, both of which volunteer at relatively low rates.
"As the kids leave home, volunteering diminishes," Eisner said. He added: "We have not made the kind of `asks' that we need to of the Latino population." An "ask" in the language of nonprofits is a request for help.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/14802285.htm
Will state Democrats back D.C.'s horse?
Virginia voters in Tuesday's Senate primary weigh who they like - and who can oust the GOP incumbent.
By Gail Russell Chaddock | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
ARLINGTON, VA. – War hero and former Reagan Navy secretary James Webb is the name that Senate Democrats hope will lead the ticket against Republican Sen. George Allen in this fall's election, because they're convinced he could win.
"He's our best hope for defeating Allen in November," said Sen. Charles Schumer (D) of New York, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, in a statement last week.
But it's not clear that Virginia Democrats expected to turn out in Tuesday's primary election got the memo.
At an annual dinner on Friday, not a hint of applause from Arlington County Democrats greeted Mr. Webb's announcement that 13 Democratic senators had "stood up and endorsed my candidacy."
"I'm a yellow dog Democrat," explained retired teacher Jean Barton, a Democratic Party activist since the 1960s, in a reference to Southern Democrats' historical pattern of voting for their party's candidates whether they like them or not. "I like to dance with the guy who brought me."
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0613/p03s03-uspo.html
Philip Merrill's sailboat found empty in Chesapeake Bay
Monday, June 12, 2006; Posted: 8:31 a.m. EDT (12:31 GMT)
Philip Merrill in 2004, when he was president of the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
BALTIMORE, Maryland (AP) -- Rescue crews continued to search the Chesapeake Bay on Monday for a prominent publisher and former diplomat whose sailboat was found sitting on the water with its engine running.
Philip Merrill was sailing alone Saturday and failed to come home, Col. Mark S. Chaney, superintendent of the Maryland Natural Resource Police said Sunday.
State and federal agencies joined the search. The Coast Guard sent both aircraft and boats and was operating under the assumption that Merrill fell overboard, Senior Chief Steve Carleton said.
Considering the conditions and the chilly water temperature, U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Timothy G.M. Balunis Jr, estimated survival time to be about 28 hours.
"As time goes by, chances of survival are less and less," Chaney said.
Merrill, 72, an experienced sailor, had been sailing alone in breezy weather Saturday, said Tom Marquardt, executive editor of The (Annapolis) Capital, one of seven periodicals Merrill publishes.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/06/12/missing.boater.ap
US governors adopt energy plans for the West
Reuters
Monday, June 12, 2006; 6:26 PM
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Governors of states in the U.S. West approved proposals over the weekend to add cleaner energy resources to meet the region's growing demand for electricity and they called for reductions in greenhouse gases linked to global warming.
The Western Governors Association, which represents 19 states and three U.S.-flag islands in the Pacific, passed measures on Sunday that call for 30,000 new megawatts of clean energy supplies such as solar and geothermal power by 2015, and development of cleaner fuels like ethanol and biodiesel and climate change policies for the West.
The resolution on climate change, however, did not lay out specific actions to be taken.
California Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told the governors at their annual meeting in Sedona, Arizona, that they must work harder on the greenhouse problem.
"On global warming we still come up short," Schwarzenegger said. "We've made progress in everyone seeing it's a serious problem. But unless we set specific goals and targets with specific ways to measure our performance, a resolution won't mean very much."
"We're long past the time when it's OK just to talk about these problems," he said.
The measure also urged Congress and the Bush administration to fund research on climate change and to support coordinated international research on the issue.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/12/AR2006061201190.html
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